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John Aravosis at AmericaBlog just posted a blockbuster disclosure regarding the Pentagon's survey of the troops attitudes on the possiblity of repeal of the military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” law.
So much for the Defense Department's super secret $4.5 million survey of the troops to ask them how they feel about repealing “Don't Ask, Don't Tell.” I, an avowed gay activist, just took the survey – three times in fact. Perhaps DOD should reconsider just how good and informative, and accurate, this survey is. (They also might want to get their money back.)
In a nutshell, I was able to get three different PIN numbers to gain access to the survey three times, as three different people. Two of those times I was on the same computer, meaning there are no adequate safeguards to stop people from taking the survey multiple times – hell, I was logged in to the two surveys at the same time. And one of the three times, I was able to have a kid, who isn't military, participate in the survey, answering questions from a real human being (apparently) in a chat room of sorts. My intent – to find out whether or not the survey is secure, whether or not it can be hacked (well, this isn't even hacking). It's not, and it can.
Aravois walks you through the process, complete with screenshots and much more in his post: “I just took DOD's confidential DADT survey of the troops—three times!”
This is significant, because with all the biased language, the flawed methodology and an outright admission from the Pentagon that this survey isn't scientific, that is no doubt that any information gleened from this poll is now suspect garbage.
There is no assurances that homophobes haven't “freeped” the poll multiple times. There is no assurances that PINs have not been passed around among conservative groups and the bigoted masses. In short, none of the information collected by this survey has any creditability at all.
Westat definitely owes the taxpayers a refund. They have charged the DOD $4.5M to provide the equivalent of a Fox News internet poll.
Garbage in, garbage out comes to mind. What possible use could this poll serve? A $4.5 million dollar life support program for DADT, giving the Pentagon evidence that “nows not a good time” to repeal.
Negligence like this—and by our military—can't possibly be an accident.
20 Comments
Holy Shit!
OH…….MY……GODDESS!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT a coup! Go John! Cut these fuckers down with their own sword!
The inmates are definitely running the asylum [though even this isn't as bad as TWO of he Joint Chiefs indicating in May that they though DADT had ALREADY been repealed, and the Secretary of the Army saying he thought there was a moratorium on discharges].
Members of the Pentagon Working Group interviewing an anonymous gay servicemember.
I wonder if…It seems like we could definitely kill the survey off by getting lots of people to take it quickly before they make it more secure… thus making the whole stupid thing invalid.
I’ve said it more than once:The Pentagon is dominated by right-wing Christian ideologues. They will do anything they can to keep DADT in place. And Obama will hold their hands and whisper sweet nothings to them all the way.
hee, hee, hee. . .Anybody got a pin? It’s freep time!!
What I said to Scott on TwitterWhen I caught this between flights on the way to Vegas:
Fruit flieswould be considered ineligible to serve. :)
Be prepared, Pam! Vegas is sweltering per usual….
…and it just got a little hotter given that Dan Choi & GetEQUAL risked their lives in its crazy traffic [and got arrested] to call out Nevada’s Harry Reid on ENDA.
I’m sure that will heat up some of the debates at NetRoots about whom to hold accountable and how.
[Side note: if you've never seen Cirque's O at the Bellagio, and have time, DO NOT MISS IT!]
It has probably been compromised from day one…How can they prove a confidential survey hasn’t been? That’s rhetorical, of course; they can’t.
This is a bombshell, I honestly believe it invalidates the entire survey.
The Pentagon…If it doesn’t involve killing, maiming, or torture then the Pentagon has little expertise.
No surprise the “CHAT” part could be freeped.This part of survey was available to troops, family members, staff, etc. All one needed was someone’s PIN# to get on. In addition, they would have to assume that at least some people would be taking it on the same computer (like spouses, troops in field, etc.). Don’t know that they made any special claims for this part. In fact, I don’t think they made claims of scientific rigor even for the multiple choice part since they had no control over sampling. However, it would be more interesting if multiple choice part could be taken multiple times with the same PIN#. Was that tried? They could program that part so that when a number has been used once it can’t be used again.
They DID have some control over the “sampling” for the questionnaire….
…though I’ve yet to read what their “methodolgy” was.
They allegedly “selected” 400,000 SPECIFIC people, contacted them and invited them to respond.
I “assume” the demographic questions they ask, e.g., age group and rank, reflects not “tracking” exactly which respond.
In any case, I’ve still seen NO ONE but gay-from-another-planet moi ask why they need to sort answers BY RACE.
well, surprise, surprise!Military security is rather porous of late. See, e.g., the case of PFC Bradley Manning, who leaked the Wikileaks video, and, according to his charge sheet, even though he was a PFC at a brigade HQ, “exceed[ed] his authorized access on a Secret Internet Protocol Router computer network” and downloaded multiple videos, PowerPoint presentations, 260,000+ State Department cables, &c. over a period of four months. And nobody noticed till he told Wikileaks.
See the charge sheet at
http://www.boingboing.net/2010…
So, if the military’s Sooperdooper Secret Magical Router isn’t safe, this poll wouldn’t be either. Good thing that it was just a PFC and not bad guys like Natasha and Boris Badenov.
They have very little expertise even at those things.We’re talking about a bunch of clowns who think they’re attacking “terrorists” and end up carpet-bombing wedding parties. But don’t ask about that, and they won’t tell.
Ay CarumbaI’d would really like to say this is a joke but alas peoples lives are being destroyed and thats not funny. Get a grip and get over yourselves and just repeal the stupid law.
Of course, you’re right…I should have the word “indiscriminate” between ‘involve’ and ‘killing’.
I guess it’s pretty apt that an organization who’s mission is murder and torture has a “moral” problem with love.
This is just the chat partThis isn’t the quantitative (multiple-choice) part of the survey that we’ve all seen. This is an optional “confidential” chat that you can access after you’ve taken the survey or after you’ve commented on the DADT Comment line.
I’m not saying it’s great – this still means that they can get comments from Joe Schmoe – but it won’t be part of the 400K statistics.
poll is now suspect garbage.It’s always been garbage. This garbage survey needs to be addressed at the next White House Press conf. with Gibbs. Does us no good to talk amongst ourselves. This must be brought out in the MSM.
I am in favor of DADTI personally don’t agree with homosexuality, but I will say this…This subject as with so MANY other things has nothing do with a person’s ability to perform a job, drive a car, vote, raise their children or fight for their country and should there fore have no legal bearing on ANYTHING. I don’t agree with a lot of things, doesn’t mean that either myself or some government official should be able to stop you from doing it, you know barring it physically hurting someone else…
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